Tech football fights through adversity and embraces its big opportunity

Tech Titan's quarterback, Donnovan Nance, drops back for a pass attempt. Arsenal Technical High School hosted Warren Central High School Friday, August 16, 2013, in varsity football scrimmage action as the two team prepare for the upcoming season.
(Photo: Doug McSchooler)

Emil Ekiyor is in an unusual situation, one he’s pretty certain no other high school football coach in Class 6A is dealing with this season.

First off, the third-year Tech High School coach has a good team. That in itself doesn’t make his situation unusual, but it is a unique position for an Indianapolis Public Schools football program to feel like it has a legitimate chance to win a sectional championship. It hasn’t happened since 1999, when Arlington did it.

The addition of a sixth class in football and the realignment that ensued pushed Tech into a four-team sectional with Franklin Central, Perry Meridian and Southport. No pushovers among them, but a winnable field. There’s not a Warren Central, Carmel or Ben Davis blocking the way.

All of that is good for Tech. Good for Ekiyor. And good for IPS.

“Tech has been down for so long,” said senior defensive end Rajshawn Mosley. “When we finally have an opportunity to do something special, we want to make sure we do everything right. There’s a responsibility with that.”

Ekiyor has a “no excuses” policy with his team, one he reminded them of after the host Titans committed 12 penalties in a sloppy scrimmage against Warren Central on Friday. He doesn’t want to come off as a whiner. But he was laid off from his day job with IPS this summer, as coordinator for alternative education career programs, part of staff reduction of 59 positions that included the positions of many coaches without a teaching degree.

So Ekiyor, and most of his coaching staff, is not in the building during the day at Tech.

“The district has put us in a tough situation,” Ekiyor said. “We worry about it daily because it’s a long season. Kids have to keep their grades and deal with what they have to deal with at home, and we don’t have adult (coaches) on campus to help them. We just hope, we hope we can hold it together through the season and be good in October.”

Part of Ekiyor’s frustration is he believes Tech was building the program the right way. He said all but 10 of the 72 upperclassmen from last year were eligible by the 2.0 grade-point average standard IPS requires.

“That’s the biggest thing is using football as a tool to get inner-city kids to buy into education,” he said. “They’ve done it.”

On the field, Tech made big strides last season. The Titans went 6-4 and defeated Perry Meridian in the first round of the sectional before losing to North Central. Junior running back James Gilbert, who rushed for more than 1,800 yards as a sophomore, has set a goal of 2,000 this year behind a rebuilt offensive line.

The defense, led by Mosley, linebacker Demetrius Shaw and defensive backs Deondrae Williamson, Jason Beck and Adonis Williamson, is expected to be very good.

“Our defense is probably one of the best in the state,” Beck said. “I feel like everybody underestimates us because we are IPS. We play with a chip on our shoulder.”

Admittedly, Tech will have to do without the rash of penalties it incurred Friday. Mosley attributed some to an Instagram/Twitter social media battle that had some Warren Central and Tech players feuding even before the game. There were 19 penalties between the teams, many of them of the unsportsmanlike variety.

“We can’t have that stuff,” Mosley said.

Next week comes the real thing, when state power Carmel takes a trip to the Near Eastside. Standing on Tech’s new artificial turf field Friday night, Ekiyor looked forward to the scene coming next week.

“Who would have ever thought we’d have Carmel coming here to play?” Ekiyor said. “Having opportunities like that is what it’s all about for these kids.”